Which digital

Here is a loaded question!!! I have alway shot Nikon and have nikon lenses. Say unlimitted budget which body, housing and strobes. I was thinking D1X or maybe Fuji S2 or new S3. I am open to suggestions from those with more underwater experience.

Thanks a lot,

Dan

If I have unlimited budget, D1X with Seacam housing would be nice, especially with their incredibly expensive viewfinder. (I think Seacam is going to release a housing for D1H soon and the buttons are pretty much identical to D1X). Strobewise, I like my Ikelite strobe but the Subtronic strobe that Seacam sells also look very nice. Don't know who is going to support the Fuji S3 yet, as far as housing is concerned.

i would give serious thought to the new D2X. Lots of meg, 12 i think?
And it should fit into a Seacam housing if i am right in what i recall.

Go to the Seacam website and they may have a post on there about it. Subal is definitely making a housing too.

Mike Veitch:

i would give serious thought to the new D2X..

Click to expand...

Absolutely! If money is no object I'd go with the Nikon D2X. With 12MB you could make gorgeous large prints. Has any one seen a price yet?

That said, a housing for the D2X probably doesn't yet exist.

The Fuji S3 looked like an attractive body when it was first announced. I thought it might be a good upgrade from my D100 but I now have some reservations based on the preview published at dpreview.com. It doesn't seem like there is any one feature that is a fatal flaw but there are enough nagging omissions that it seems like I might be better off waiting until the day that I can afford the D2X.

Given that you have Nikon lenses, I would certainly lean towards the new Nikon D2X. The practical person in me would not permit me to waste those wonderful Nikor lenses. That said, if budget we not an issue, why settle for second best? Canon has just anounced the EOS 1DS MKII a 16.7 MP beast http://www.dpreview.com/articles/canoneos1dsmkii/ and is still the only full 35mm size cmos sensor available. It also appears to share the same body as the 1ds sooo underwater housings are already available.

I did a side by side on DPReview with the S3 and the DX2 and they didn't seem all that different. Since there have been so many with great reports on the S2 I would lean torward the S3.

Caymaniac

dbramley, I see from your profile "large format photography". So I would guess you'd like lots of pixels.

Buying right now, with cash no object:
D70 in a Subal housing. The D70 has a reasonable rez in pixels, great sync speeds (faster than the strobes can provide) and a good feature set. The Subal has their huge viewfinder that gives an image that reminds one of a Sportsfinder on a film camera. (the squinty viewfinder has been my biggest gripe for digital)
Strobes, I am an Ikelite fan for robustness. Also, a good housing tech could shoehorn in the Ikelite TTL subsystem for the D70 when it appears...remember, money no object...

Willing to wait 6 months:
Wait for the DX2 and a housing to match. Same strobe reccomendations unless something changes.

HOWEVER:
You said price is no object. I'd consider this, in light of your background:
Housing: Aquatica 67
Body: Mamiya RZ67 Pro
Back: Phase One P25 (22 megapixel back)

...not that I've been dreamin', or anything...

All the best, James

PS...for someone with an "investment" in Nikon lenses, when $ are a concern, my "right now" reccomendation is still a D70 inside an Aquatica, or, Subal.

Well that gives me a lot to consider, wish you wouldn't have mentioned the 6X7 option, I do have hasselblads. I have a feeling the price just went up!!! I was actually unaware of the D2X, I will be looking into it.

Thanks,

Dan